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good morning. welcome, everybody. our starting point this morning is inauguration day. take a look at the picture of the masses starting to gather on the national mall, here to witness president obama's second public inauguration. our festivities begin at this hour. we're expecting to see the president in roughly 30 minutes or so as he makes his way to mass. john? >> i'm john king. inaugural speeches have been used to set the tone, unite a nation, and to set an example for the rest of the world. we're going to look this morning at the historical significance of today and why the next four years may be tougher than the first four. >> so big names and prime seats. we will go inside the vip section for today's inauguration. we'll tell you who will show up and who won't. >> among our guests this hour, we're talking to iowa representative steve king, maine senator angus king, texas representative joaquin castro, and from "america's got talent,"

nick cannon. our special edition of "starting point" live from the nation's capital begins right now. good morning, everybody. welcome. this is what it looks like in washington, d.c., today. a beautiful day, not quite as warm as yesterday. it's something like 36 degrees. 28 if you factor in the windchill factor. but actually, compared to four years ago, it's quite balmy. i'm soledad o'brien. this morning i'm joined by newark's mayor cory booker, who you notice is completely underdressed for the weather. i said, it's warm, but it's not that warm. the president kicking off his second public term as leader of the free world. our national correspondent john king is here. we have reporters blanketing washington, d.c. dan lothian at the white house.

brianna keilar at st. john's episcopal church. suzanne malveaux on the parade route. the turnover not expected to match the 1.8 million spectators back in here in 2009. thinker expecting roughly half the number, something like 800,000, 900,000. it is the president's second time taking the oath in 24 hours. the fourth time taking the oath in his presidency. >> so help me god. >> congratulations, mr. president. >> thank you, mr. chief justice. thank you so much. thank you, sweetie. >> the first lady and his two daughters looking on. the president made good on what is a constitutional requirement. he has to january 20th. the vice president too. he was sworn in by the supreme court justice sonia sotomayor, making history as the first latina to swear in a vice president. so today for the first family, the day will begin at church. white house correspondent dan lothian follows the day's events for us. hey, dan, good morning.

>> reporter: good morning. this will be the first chance we get to see the president on this inauguration day. about 8:45 the first family will be heading across the street to st. john's episcopal church. they've attended services there in the past. they did so four years ago on inauguration day. this is a church that's also known as sort of the president's church. sometimes they'll walk across the street, across lafayette park, but we're told today they will be headed to services via motorcade. then later in the morning, the president will head to the capitol for the swearing in ceremony, not only for the president but also for the vice president, and then he'll deliver the inauguration address, which white house aides say will be very hopeful. he'll talk about some of the challenges forward and a chance for the public to get engaged. >> dan lothian updating us on the day as it begins. thank you, dan. appreciate that. let's get right to brianna keilar at the church, where the president is expected to keep up what is a d.c. tradition.

he's going to attend a pre-inaugural service there. tell us about that, brianna. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, soledad. this is a tradition started by fdr, coming here to st. john's on inauguration day, but it was james madison who first started attending services at this church, and he chose a pew not at the front of the church, but in the middle of the congregation, and that is where you will see the obamas sitting here today during this pretty short and sweet church service, we're told. it should be a normal prayer service. the second family will be here as well. and there are a number of people in the congregation who are ticket holders. st. john's is also significant because the pastor here, luis leo leoo leon, will be delivering the ben diction later today. he wasn't the first pick. the first pick was louis giglio, an evangelical minister who withdrew after it came to light he gave an anti-gay sermon years

ago. president obama recently changed his mind to support same-sex marriage and the episcopal church is more in line with that. as you know, they have gay pastors. >> thank you, brianna. we're going to be watching the president in roughly 30 minutes or so. we'll be looking forward to that. the president will deliver a speech. then ats out to lunch. it's a slow limo ride down pennsylvania avenue. cnn's suzanne malveaux literally has one of the best seats you could possibly have along the parade route. hey, suzanne. >> reporter: good morning, soledad. this is prime real estate. this is the hot spot to be because essentially here's where we are at ninth and pennsylvania. jonathan, if you show our audience, the president and vice president and our motorcade, they are going to start at the capitol here. after the oath, they are going to head down pennsylvania avenue. you can see already all of the police that have lined up, the secret service, the park police,

local officials, people from all over the country are going to be coming down here along this route. we understand that there's going to be about 8,800 or so folks following the president. right here is where they're expected to get out of the parade route. they're not announcing it. this is traditionally where the president will step out of the motorcade, and the folks will get a close-up look as close as they can to the president and first lady along this parade route. it's going to be a lot of excitement here. we're talking about kids on unicycles, military bands, and 200 animals and balloons all representing this special occasion. we're just grateful it's a lot warmer this go around, and not as many people as well. soledad, back to you. >> mayor cory booker and i are saying yes, yes. it's amazing how another

20-some-odd degrees make. four years ago it was 9 degrees, i think. >> i think i froze to my core. >> it was miserably cold. >> if it wasn't witnessing history -- that was one of the most extraordinary, record breaking inaugurations. but this, you can just feel the energy all around the mall right now. i think this is going to be a very memorable day. >> beautiful, beautiful day. 1.8 million people turned out four years ago. they're expecting that number to be roughly half. christi paul is on the national mall, where folks have begun to gather. the festivities have begun to officially start. got a lot of people behind you now. >> reporter: this helps too with the weather. you get them all cuddled up there, and you're warmer. we've been seeing a steady stream of people coming in. i want to introduce you to -- i know it's all about president obama, but i've got a fellow politician here. for one thing, this guy was able to weasel himself onto a trip of 11 women from atlanta coming down. he's the only male that made it into the group. and on top of that, mr. marcus williams here, you're in ninth

grade. what did you work out with your school? >> what happened was, basically, my grandmother, she's a travel agent. and she planned a trip to come to the inauguration this year. and she had a seat left for me available. so i came, and when i told my teachers, one of my teachers, he was like, well, here's ten pages of homework, but if you can go and report back to us what you saw in washington, d.c., then you won't have to do the homework. so i decided to do the report, of course. >> are you taking video while you're here? what are you doing? >> yes. instead of writing the report, i'm going to actually videotape it. >> reporter: how about that? a man in the ninth grade who knows how to negotiate. that spells politician to me. marques williams, thank you so much. they're all the way here fl atlanta with all these other good folks. and we don't want to miss little anaya here. >> so cute.

>> reporter: lots of energy. >> she's got to be the warmest, anaya, tucked in nice and warm. i wanted to take a moment to show everybody this, which is the official invitation. i know you, mr. mayor, have one of these. look at this, the seal. it's heavy duty paper. it says the honor of your presence is requested at the ceremonies, attending the inauguration of the president and vice president of the united states. an invitation like this would get you a seat where? here or down the mall? >> it depends on -- you're assigned a different section. i've seen the process of going through assigning these tickets. you have to understand this is such a great draw for people from all over the united states -- foreign dignitaries, members of congress. so it is a very hot and hard ticket to get. the great thing about it, whether you're watching at home, whether you're here in the cold with us, the reality is it's truly a celebration of america. i've had the privilege of being here for republican presidential inaugurations and democratic inaugurations. >> me too. it's fun no matter what. >> whatever side of the aisle

you're on, this is just a great celebration of this nation. >> i agree with you. let's get right to john king. he's with congressman steve king. good morning, john. >> reporter: good morning, soledad. it is a celebration for all americans. democrats, republicans, independents, as we celebrate once again the strength of our democracy. there are a lot of big policy questions. as the president addresses the american people in his second inaugural address today, one of the big questions is how will house republicans -- remember they still have the majority in the house -- how will they react to the second term? steve king is a member of the tea party caucus. the president won an election that many say he shouldn't have won given the sluggish recovery. he beat your party. democrats beat a bit more in the senate. do you feel republicans need to change in the second obama term? >> i think a few of them are, john, and i'm certainly not. those of us who won an election, we see our constituents as deserving the best representation we can give them. we won elections too. this is an interesting day today, this peaceful transfer, a

constitutional way of the power and vision by our founding fathers, and they understood the separation of powers. they knew there was going to be a clash in the confrontation and a struggle between the parties, but we also know we have to run this government. it's going to be interesting as this unfolds. this should be a healing day. then tomorrow morning, we can start that harder work you mentioned. >> reporter: let's talk about the harder work. some of it divides your party internally. other parts divide his party internally. there's been a talk that maybe immigration reform is a place there could be common ground. you heard marco rubio in the senate, paul ripe in the house, and maybe we can have like george w. bush, a republin vision that had legal status and maybe even citizenship for those in this country illegally, ballpark number about 10 million. would a tea party member like you support that? in the past, you've called that amnesty. >> that would be real hard for me, and i defined amnesty, and not many have because they want the broader definition when it's convenient. to grant amnesty is to pardon immigration law breakers and reward them with the objective

of their crime. if that's what this bill does, it would fit the definition of amnesty. >> could your speaker survive if he allowed that bill to come to the floor of the house of representatives? >> i think we'd want to look at the language on that. john boehner's tone and his body language and everything i heard him say at the retreat in williamsburg, he and our leadership team was all about how we pull our conference together and work together. i don't think you'll see another bill come to the floor that's got that large a number of democrat votes we've seen in the past. i think it's going to be a republican agenda that he drives, and i think it's about unifying our conference. >> what about gun control? >> that's another situation that's rolling out in front of us. both of these issues, immigration and gun control, one of them, the immigration, was launched the morning after the election, before they actually analyzed the election polls. i think some republicans overreacted. gun control, the same thing. those people that wanted to confiscate guns, the anti-second amendment people took an

opportunity as soon as the sandy hook tragedy took place. both of these things will be stretched out over time and come together. that's the only thing that should get to the president's desk, constitutional, prudent decisions made by the house, the senate, and the presidency. >> on the day of celebration, congressman, appreciate your time. it does seem we're heading towards what's more familiar in this town krb i know mayor booker is not a huge fan of it, but it's become a staple in this town -- confrontation. >> he's not a fan of it, but i bet he's pretty good at it, i'm going to guess, go out on a limb on that. thank you, john. appreciate that. still ahead on "starting point," president obama has faced well publicized battles with congress. we're going to talk to senator angus king, an independent. he says he came to washington to shake things up. we'll ask him what that means straight ahead. ♪ [ male announcer ] the distances aren't getting shorter. ♪ the trucks are going farther.

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welcome back to the west front of the capitol, where we've been inaugurating our presidents since ronald reagan. behind me is where the president will take the public oath surrounded by all the vip

seating. the families, the obama family, the biden family, and then not far behind them, members of the u.s. senate. i am joined now by a u.s. senator, a new u.s. senator from the state of maine, an independent, senator angus king. nice to have you here today. >> good morning. great day for america. >> we talked about vip seating. this is your fourth inauguration, and this is the best seating you've ever had. >> the seats are getting better all the time. the first time was with my dad when i was 8 years old, standing down on pennsylvania avenue for eisenhower's inauguration. i was at george w. bush's and then obama's last time. a lot warmer today than 2009. it's just a great day. >> reporter: and you have the best view you've had yet. senator, you're independent. you said you wanted to come to washington to shake things up. is that what washington needs. does it need to calm things down? >> i don't -- i think it's a little of both. i think really what we need more than anything else is talking to each other. as bill clinton said, it's arithmetic. if you've got a democratic president, a republican house, a senate that's essentially evenly balanced because of the way the

rules work, then we've got to talk to each other. there's just no other way to solve the problems. >> you're replacing a republican who left, olympia snowe, essentially because she said she was sick of the partisanship. what can you do in the next week, month to change that? >> i started by just meeting with senators. i think part of the problem here is a lack of relationships. everybody is going their own way, and they're keeping their partisanship on. i started out in the first two weeks, i've met with over 30 senators. one-on-one, sitting down, both parties. and what i'm finding is that everybody wants to get it going, and i think we just have to sort of push through. we have our differences, but they're not -- we ought to be able to work these things out. >> what's the best advice you got in these meetings? >> the best advice, i think, was keep talking to people, and i'll tell you, it's really funny. as an independent, they all,

when i walk into the room, say, man, you're in a great place. you're in a great place. >> you are in a great place, senator. it's great to see you. we'll be sitting right down there and wave to you. senator angus king of maine, great to see you. >> thank you. >> we're expecting thousands and thousands of people here, along with the senator. when we come back, we'll talk about the crowds starting to file in, enthusiastic, ready for president obama's second inauguration. we'll be right back. twins. i didn't see them coming. i have obligations. cute obligations, but obligations. i need to rethink the core of my portfolio. what i really need is sleep. introducing the ishares core, building blocks for the heart of your portfolio. find out why 9 out of 10 large professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. ishares by blackrock. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus which includes investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. read and consider it carefully before investing. risk includes possible loss of principal.

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coverage here on "starting point" of the second obama inaugural. little tongue twister there for a second. let's get back to our great panel. bill burton works in the obama white house, also as a senior strategist for usa action. margaret hoover in the bush white house. ron brownstein of the national journal. it is said in wash that some things said in washington are true and others not so true, that second terms are tougher. yes, no, why? >> you heard congressman king say something right now that's pretty important and a lot of republicans are thinking. president obama won an election, but they all won an election too. you don't see a lot of chastene this election. it's going to be hard to get things done. but the president got a lot of big things done in his first term, so i'll expect it again. >> when he got a lot of big

things done, it was immediately, as soon as he got into office. i think he's in a sweet spot. before outside events begin to shape the context and text you're of a second term. the time is really now, but it's shorter, and i think you have less ability in the second term. >> substantively, i think you have to say this is a president whose first term handed him a tougher set of problems. whether to nationalize the banks, whether to let general motors go bankrupt, the worst economic downturn since the depression. he's not in that kind of crisis situation. and legislatively, it's obviously going to be tough. i think he does have openings he didn't have in the first term. the fact he reconfirmed this democratic majority puts more pressure on republicans to rethink where they are and might allow him to break what had been almost unbroken adamant opposition in the first term. >> the problems in the second term. one, you have better numbers in congress in your first term, especially if you had a big victory in your first election. two, your mandate. presidents often overinterpret their mandate and push

legislation they weren't actually elected to get done. george bush in 2005, social security is a great example. and finally scandals. an accumulation of issues starts to set in by year five, six, seven, and some of those things you did earlier in your term metastasized into scandals. >> he still doesn't have a robust recovery. there's no money flowing into washington. there's not much room to maneuv maneuver. >> he got a lot of room with the deal he got at the end of the year in the lame duck session. he's got the republicans by the short hairs, and he's going to be able to push him on revenue even more. >> the president's success is tied to the economy. the economy is slowly starting to recover. one of the things it's starting to recover from is an oil and gas boom in the west, something the president and his base haven't been willing to support. the irony is he may benefit from something he hasn't supported. >> something the president would very much love in a second term,

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good morning. welcome back, everybody. you're taking a live look this morning at st. john's church. the president and the first lady and the two first children will be expected to arrive at that church within 30 minutes or so. really the event that kicks off the festivities for the day, and dan lothian has been update for us on how exactly this day, inauguration day, will unfold.

dan, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, soledad. that is the tradition on inauguration day, that the first family goes across the street to st. john's episcopal church to attend services there. they did so four years ago. they've also attended services there on sunday. sometimes they just walk across lafayette park, but we're told today they will be going there by motorcade. just a few seconds ago, i saw chief of staff jack lew, who the president has nominated as his next treasury secretary, walking across the street. we expect the first family to be headed there shortly. so the day starts here. then it heads to capitol hill for the official swearing in ceremony, where hundreds of thousands of people will be standing by to watch that historic event. president obama will deliver his inaugural address there, and then wind up back here at the white house. they'll take part in the inauguration day parade, and then sit down and watch the rest of the parade from the reviewing stand. soledad? >> dan lothian for us. thank you, dan, for the update.

let's get right to brianna keilar. she is at st. john's episcopal church with a little more on that part of the day. brianna, good morning. >> reporter: hi there, soledad. we're already seeing those close to the first lady and the president arriving. i saw craig robinson, the first lady's brother. we're told the vice president will be here shortly. his motorcade will arrive before president obama's. and this is a tradition here at what's been known in recent decades as the church of presidents. this has been a tradition back to fdr, coming here to st. john's episcopal church for the inauguration day service. but it was james madison much before that who started coming here in general for services, and he chose a pew not at the front of the church, but in the middle of the church. the middle of the congregation. he did that on purpose. so when you're watching today and you see president obama and the first family and you see them in the middle of the church, that is pew 54, and that

is where they will be sitting today, soledad. >> brianna keilar for us at st. john's episcopal. thank you, brianna. appreciate it. you can see the capitol right behind me. right on the corner there fairly high up where all the media is on the side, there's john berman. let's go to check in with john berman. good morning, john. >> hey, soled dad. these are phenomenal seats i have here. i've been looking down at the west front of the capitol all morning, where there's a tremendous amount of hustle and bustle. they're putting these name tags, these name cards on the seats. what name cards they must be, a veritable who's who of washington insiders -- the obama family, the biden family, the supreme court, senators, house leaders, and of course, friends of the obama family, also some big donors there. now, a few people who will not be here. a designated survivor, the member of the cabinet who remains out in case something

happens. former presidents. former president jimmy carter, former president bill clinton. no bush presidents here today. george h.w. bush, bush 41 still recovering from that illness he's been battling the last several months. and george w. bush and laura, they sent their regrets. their thoughts, they say, are with the obamas, but they stayed back in texas as well. soledad? >> all right. john berman, thank you very much. i want to show folks where john is. you can see the media platform or the many platforms where the media is is right up there. you can see how close that is over to the capitol, very, very close. really, john and i, when we're up there, have one of the best seats in the house. the capitol, some of the best seats are right here. all these different sections then straight back, look straight back. you can see 200,000 -- 800,000 people on the mall. we'll get right to brianna keilar, who is at st. john's church, with an update from there. >> reporter: you're looking at right behind me michelle obama

getting out of the beast, as we know it, the presidential limousine, meeting president obama on the other side of it, as they await other members of the first family. i can see off to the right, the first lady's mother, marion robinson, and you see sasha, their youngest daughter, who is so years old, and malia, their 14-year-old daughter, both wearing shades of purple here as they go into st. john's episcopal church, the church known as the church of presidents. they will be going in. we're seeing them met right now by the pastor. they will be going in for what we are told is a normal church service. it is the first family. it's also the second family, and a number of dignitaries who are there. there are also some people who, i guess you could say, are rather lucky. they are ticket holders who will be inside for what we're expecting to be a rather short and sweet service here at st. john's episcopal church. look for them sitting in the middle of the congregation in pew number 54, soledad. >> brianna keilar for us. thank you, brianna. appreciate it.

we have julian castro joining us this morning. joaquin. that's the problem with twin brothers. once i've interviewed you both, i confuse you completely. i believe it was you who said you're the motor vehicle more handsome brother. good to see you. i appreciate it. >> soled dsoledad, everybody he saying it's not that cold. when you're from texas, it's freezing. >> i'm from new york, and i'm cold. it's not as cold as four years ago. it was brutally, brutally cold. they say it's 36 or 38 degrees. it's warming up. might be a little bit warmer. tell me about where you're going to be this afternoon. >> we're going to be with the members of congress up here. so all of us are meeting in the house chamber at about 9:30. and we'll do the ceremonial walk over to the platform and get settled. everyone has to be in place a few hours before the president comes out, but we're some of the last to come, but that's because we're such a big group. >> there are many people

weighing in on what they expect the inaugural address to entail. two words i have heard are hopeful and unity, which really doesn't give you much of a hint. what do you think it has to have? >> i think it should be inspirational and also aspirational. it will map out, not too specifically, but i think in broad strokes, where the president intends to take the nation for the next four years. and also, i would expect him to talk about some of the hot button issues of the day, whether it's gun safety, immigration reform, of course dealing with our fiscal situation, all of those he'll touch on, but do it in a way that uplifts the american spirit. this is really a beautiful day. regardless of what president you're inaugurating. the peaceful transfer of power in a democracy, so it's a wonderful day. >> it is quite a thing to celebrate when you think about it. you look to other countries where the transfer of power is often not smooth at all, and in some cases absolutely hostile. it's kind of a nice thing to be able to celebrate in this country. for many people, they tick off all the things that they'd like to see the president accomplish

before he becomes a lame duck. some people say that's a year, some say two years, some say a little more than that. is it possible to get immigration, gun control, the debt ceiling, really think about how you curb spending, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, climate control, energy policy -- all done in that one to two-year window. >> i think that we will be able to do most, if not all of those things. and certainly attempt to do all of them. all of them are important issues. all of them are things the president cares deeply about that many members of congress care deeply about. but most importantly, they're things that the american people care about. with that momentum going forward, we'll try to tackle them. >> joaquin, nice to have you with us. we appreciate it. have a great afternoon and great day. let's bring in jeff toobin, who is right over here. i want to show people how close we are to the capitol. jeff, if you look up here, this is the perfect view to watch the president being sworn in. >> it really is great. one of the things you don't

realize is how close they are together. it is a very ipt mat scene up there. the chief justice of the united states, as famous and powerful as he is, he's not used to looking out and seeing a million people. it was more than a million last time. this time it will be somewhat less. i think last time he was a little flustered by how many people there were. he had a good day yesterday. we'll see how he'll be in public today. >> he looked a little tense yesterday, and i noticed he read a lot. >> that's quite striking. john roberts, when he was an oral advocate in front of the supreme court, he was famous for his great memory, never used a note. both times he did the oath in 2009, he didn't use the note card. he thought he could memorize the 35 words. as we all remember, four years ago it didn't work so well. so he read a card yesterday. i anticipate we'll see a card again today. >> and sonia sotomayor, making history as the first latina to swear in the vice president, she used a card too. she told me she's going to both

prepare and read. >> it's a much longer oath for the vice president. no one, i think, could memorandumize the vice presidential oath. the presidential oath, only 35 words, it's in the constitution, very familiar. the one part, of course, that's not in the oath, is so help me god. john roberts in his usual meticulous way, his assistant checked with president-elect obama, did he want to say so help me god, because that's traditional and not required. obama did say yes, he wanted to say so help me god. all presidents since george washington have said so help me god, and it's rumored the reason they all do it is because george washington said so help me god. to this day, we're not sure whether washington really did or not. >> you talked about what chief justice roberts looked out upon. let's show everybody. here again is where the president will be sworn in. now look out this way, which is straight down the mall, and that's got to be some 800,000 people straight down there. i could see how that could make you a little bit -- that can

make you a little bit nervous. another wonderful view for folks right here in front will be watching the president being sworn in. another wonderful view is going to be the parade route. suzanne malveaux has a terrific spot right in front. it's also the spot, suzanne, where the president often will get out and walk around, correct? >> absolutely, soledad. this is the place where you want to be. people have been out here since 5:00 in the morning trying to get through the security checkpoint. but i want to just show you very briefly here. there you see the capitol up the way. it's about a mile or so long. this is the route, ninth and pennsylvania. this is typically where -- and you will see. you already see a lot of secret service, local police, state police, park police. they have been gathered early. they've got their gas masks, bottles of water here. they are ready because this is perhaps one of the most tense and anxious and excited times when the president, the vice president, very likely the first lady and jill biden will get out

of their vehicles and walk down this portion of the street. they'll get fairly close to the folks gathered here. you might have a chance to see some of the folks here with the red hats on. those were the volunteers. they were able to come out early and get clearance early. you're looking at the security as well as the volunteers. we expect close to 8,800 folks to be behind the president and his vehicle. that is going to be comprised of about 58 groups that are going to be represented. there are going to be 200 animals. we're told kids on unicycle ds, military presence, as you know, as well as high school bands. it is all a part of the flavor, the excitement, the momentum, and, soled dsoledad, the floats. people are going to be watching the state floats. the hawaii state float is going to have a huge replica of a volcano representing the president's home state. michelle obama's state of illinois, that will have a whole bunch of american flags on it,

not to mention the civil rights float that's going to be here, the mlk float, a lot of people just very excited. we are pleased, very happy, relieved that it was not like four years ago where it was freezing cold, but still a lot of folks who are coming in. they're bundled up. they're ready to go. soledad? >> suzanne, it's very interesting. i remember four years ago when i was sitting next to david gergen, presidential adviser, and when the motorcade was going down the parade route, and then it stopped, and president obama and the first lady got out of their car. he was really stressed by that. he was almost, i think it's fair to say, in a panic. he was so nervous because, of course, he was just worried. worried about the security, worried about the nation's first black president who had been sworn in, and i remember that moment when they finally got back in the car, he breathed a sigh of relief, kind of slumped in his chair, and said, oh, i'm

so glad that moment is over. for secret service, i would imagine too, the same feeling. >> the excitement and anticipation of that moment, actually, you're talking to jeffrey toobin. jeff toobin and i, we were together. we were sitting together in the cold in front of the white house when they walked down pennsylvania avenue close to the end of the parade. it was that same kind of nervousness, nervous tension that everyone was showing, and they're all out of their vehicles. that's one of the things you remember because you've got that tenseness in your stomach, but at the same time, people cheering and crying when they actually had a choons to get out and see them up close. that's one of the things that, of course, we'll be watching out here on ninth and pennsylvania. they don't announce exactly where it's going to be. tradition traditionally, it's where it's taken place. also in front of the white house, they'll get out of their vehicles again and walk into that glass encasing, that little house they've actually built on

the lawn, where the first family will celebrate at the end of the day as well. >> suzanne malveaux with the best spot right there for the parade. thanks, suzanne. appreciate that. let's get right back to john berman. he's not very far from where i am. right up in the risers with the media. john? >> hey, soledad. a little after 9:00, they will open the doors, and the vips will flow in. they have been working feverishly up until the last win. the glass around the podium where the president will be speaking, they were shining that, wiping it clean. yesterday they had vacuums to clean off this pristine blue carpet. they were working on the red drapes as well, brushing them off, as careful as they possibly can. a lot has changed, the obama family, the biden family. when it comes to the biden family, there's been a change.

the president has a newson in law. and also the supreme court section next to the two bidens, two new supreme court justices. sonia sotomayor, who will be administering the oath to vice president biden, and elena kagan. so much change over time here. the joint chiefs will be sitting there, the house leadership. and angus king, now a senator from maine, he told us he'll be sitting in the senate section, which is actually fairly close. he used to be the governor of maine. he's way up in the nose bleed seats. the way to set up, get a different office. >> you know, when you grab a superstar to chat with him, suddeny everyone comes out with an iphone. nick cannon is with me. tell me how your weekend has gone. >> it's outstanding. one of the most exciting things for me was to be able to host the inaugural ball for the youth as well the military families. i was called upon by the first

lady. any time she calls, i'll say yes. to be able to be there for the military families, it's outstanding. >> it's a remarkable thing when you think of the people that come out on the malls to take part in the peaceful transition, depending. >> absolutely. >> tell me what you're hoping to hear from the president in his inaugural address. i mean, like you said, usually it's one of those things where it's a transition. we got a second term. hopefully, this is an opportunity for us to fulfill a lot of those promises that came across the first time. i expect to hear a lot of the same thing we heard the first time around. we've seen enough progress to make those things happen. >> this is also martin luther king day. we've been talking so much about the inauguration, we haven't celebrated dr. king's day with as much due as it needed. the president will be using dr. king's personal bible when he's sworn in. >> absolutely. it's outstanding to be here. i don't think there's a better way to celebrate the holiday. a lot of people have been saying

this is a dream fulfilled. i feel like it's recognizing the dream in progress and beyond, when you think about it. to be able to have dr. king's presence through his bible and the president to actually continue his mission is one of those things where you just feel like it's the right place at the right time. >> you're a married man with four kids now. >> four? i got two. >> i've got four, sorry. this is like a bad mommy moment. >> you've got two. i've got four. we both have a set of twins. is mariah here with you? will you go to all the parties and the balls tonight? >> i think we'll try to play it as low key as possible. we'll probably be able to stop by a few areas. it's more about being here this morning is the outstanding part. >> it is wonderful to be here. turned out to be a beautiful day. >> absolutely. not as cold as last time. >> oh, my gosh, that was ridiculous. but people said it wasn't raining. could always be worse. >> that's true. the son's out today. that's good. >> nick cannon, so great to see you. thanks for talking with us.

>> good to see you too. >> pleasure. let's get right back to john berman. >> thank you so much, soled dad. we are standing up here looking down at the stage where senator -- president obama, i should say, will be taking the oath of office at about 11:30 eastern time today. the people starting to fill in all around us here. i see a choir up on the stands up high. they'll be singing a little bit later on. the program is getting all set. it truly is a majestic day here in the nation's capital. let's go back to john king, who's down on 12th street. we don't have john here. the president right now is in st. john's episcopal church. he's in services there. it's the traditional church of presidents. fdr was the first person to do the services there on the day of the inauguration. the bush family used to travel there as well. they enjoyed their time there. that's where the president is spending the morning. we saw the vice president's family filing this there as

well. i can tell you, again, up here on the capitol, they have -- all right. i'm sorry. i'm told we have soledad o'brien back down on the mall again. hey, soledad. >> hey, john. let me show folks where we are because things are starting to really get crowded. it's very exciting. over here, straight in front of me, you can see they brought the choir out. that's new. right below the flags. right below that is where the president will be sworn in. then you can see they've divided everything into sections. this section forward, you are really, really lucky. you've got a wonderful seat. this section here, you've got a seat, which is fantastic. and you have a wonderful seat down a little bit further that gets what we might call the cheaper seats. those in the way, way back, all the way by the memorial, those folks are just standing up, and there's roughly 800,000 of them. i want to introduce you to a young lady. come over here. hi. >> hi. >> you've been standing out here for a little bit. >> yes, ma'am. >> what's your name? >> colleen temple. >> colleen, while i fix the ear piece in my ear, i want you to tell me a little bit why you're

here and why you wanted to come and watch the inauguration. >> well, my father, he set up like a private plane so that we could come see the president because i was always telling him how i've always wanted to be the president and how i wanted to see an inauguration. >> so your daddy's got a private plane. i need to talk to your daddy for when i need a private plane sometimes. how old are you? >> 10. >> what do you want to hear from the president today? the inaugural speech, which he'll deliver, is considered incredibly important because it's going to frame the next four years of his term. what would you like to hear from the president as a 10-year-old girl? >> stop gun violence. >> stop gun violence is your message. it's so nice to meet you. what a pleasure to have you with us this morning. we appreciate it. we want to now head back over this direction so i can show you a little more of the layout. come this way. you can see already a small number of people have started. they're very smart. they put the blankets on because, of course, even though it's much warmer than it was

four years ago, it's significantly -- it's cold. and so we see that there are numbered seats here that still have to be filled in. of course, we're waiting at people slowly begin to fill in their seats. we're going to take a short break here and hand it back to, i think, john berman, who's in the seats above me. >> hey, soledad. >> we'll head to commercial break instead and see you right on the other side of that break, as we continue special coverage of the president's inauguration.

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thnchts is what it looks like on a beautiful day in washington, d.c. as we get ready for the inauguration of president obama. it's the second inauguration of president obama. our special coverage on "starting point" ends right now. we want to leave you with a john berman look at the president's

last four years in four minutes. here it is. >> reporter: it starts here, january 20th, 2009. screaming crowds, soaring hopes, towering expectations. what could possibly go wrong? except the inauguration. >> i, barack hussein obama, do solemnly swear. >> reporter: first year, major action, big stimulus, big bailout, big appointment, big smack. >> nice. >> now, where were we? >> we were here, beer summit. the president invites massachusetts cop to the white house to ease racial tension. he didn't invite the salahis to state dinner. chicago loses the olympics. the nation loses an icon. the president wins a peace prize. year two, state of the union, big speech, national audience. what could possibly go wrong? >> those who were here

illegally. >> reporter: congressman joe wilson doesn't like the president's health care pitch. justice samuel alito doesn't like his campaign finance ideas. president gets obamacare. vice president gets fresh. kagan in, ron out. banking reform in. don't ask, don't tell out. republicans in. democrats out. >> take a shellacking like i did last night. where were we? >> reporter: you were here, 2011. tunisia turmoil, libya turmoil, bahrain turmoil, egypt turmoil. >> an orderly transition must begin now. >> reporter: turns out the president was born in america. turns out the president can crack a joke. >> i am releasing my official birth video. ♪ >> reporter: that very same weekend, closure. >> the united states has conducted an operation that

killed osama bin laden, the leader of al qaeda. >> reporter: a summer showdown, budget brinksmanship, that never happens, a downgrade for the economy. >> america's credit rating gets a downgrade. >> now, where were we? >> reporter: we were here, 2012, election year. what could possibly go wrong? ♪ i so in love with you >> reporter: how big a deal that the president sings? >> this is a big [ bleep ] deal. >> reporter: is it true he has a good voice? ♪ so in love with you >> reporter: major developments. >> i think same-sex couples should be able to get married. >> reporter: supreme court holds obamacare is constitutional. democrats hold convention. obama holds clinton. campaign push. presidential debate. presidential dud. >> it's now four years later.